Medium-scale wind turbine manufacturer Norvento has launched a new, extended 24-m rotor for its nED100 turbine, capable of increasing the Annual Energy Production (AEP) of the 100 kW machine by 8% on average.
With a 20% Feed-in Tariff degression planned for April 2015, the new rotor—available at no additional cost to new buyers—will help landowners considerably lessen the impact of this anticipated revenue loss and further bring down energy costs on site.
nED100 in Ty Gwyn Farm, Wales
By lengthening each blade by one meter, Norvento has enlarged the overall rotor diameter to 24 m, two meters longer than the existing 22-m model, thereby increasing the swept area of the blades by more than 72 m². This swept area increase allows nED100 to harness significantly more energy and boost its efficiency in all wind speeds.
Despite this enlargement, the impact of nED100, with regard to planning, remains very small. The subtle increase in blade length does not significantly alter the turbine’s overall visual impact. Furthermore, the new rotor diameter has been designed to spin at slightly lower revolutions than the 22-m model to maintain an identical tip speed ratio, which, in practice, means that both models have the same operational noise levels. The new rotor size also operates nED’s unique low noise mode designed for noise sensitive locations.
Rather than increasing the price of the turbine accordingly to account for the productivity increase the 24-m rotor provides, Norvento has in fact reduced the price of the existing 22-m model in order to allow buyers to most effectively counter the effects of the upcoming tariff degression.
“The new 24-m rotor size will help us to maximize the financial and practical benefits we provide to landowners,” said Ivo Arnús, director of UK Business Development, Norvento. “Crucially, it does this whilst maintaining the certified design features that make nED100 one of the safest, most efficient and reliable medium-scale turbines on the market—and at no extra cost to the buyer.”
“As the UK distributed wind sector prepares to enter a post-tariff phase, the only realistic way for landowners to guarantee long-term returns is to invest in a turbine that is still performing close to capacity in 20 years’ time,” Arnús continued.
Norvento
www.norvento.com
Filed Under: Components, News, Turbines
